Thursday, May 8, 2014

After years of pinching pennies and struggling to get through art school, Emma Makie’s hard work finally pays off with the offer of a dream job. But when tragedy strikes, she has no choice but to make a cross-country move to Colorado Springs to take temporary custody of her two nieces. She has no money, no job prospects, and no idea how to be a mother to two little girls, but she isn’t about to let that stop her. Nor is she about to accept the help of Kevin Grantham, her handsome new neighbor, who seems to think she’s incapable of doing anything on her own.

Fun, compelling, and romantic, Prejudice Meets Pride is the story of a guy who thinks he has it all figured out and a girl who isn’t afraid to show him that he doesn’t. It’s about learning what it means to trust, figuring out how to give and to take, and realizing that not everyone gets to pick the person they fall in love with. Sometimes, love picks them.

This is a fun, entertaining read! I was pulled in from the beginning with Emma rolling into Colorado Springs in a thirty-year-old Datsun and parking in front of an unkempt home. Emma is helping her brother by taking care of his two daughters, Kajsa, 6, and Adelynn, 5. Emma's great aunt Maude is now deceased and they'll be living in her home. Emma calls her brother, Noah, to tell him they got in town and we start to get more of the story but it's a while before we get a full understanding of what's going on. Then we meet her neighbor, Kevin, a pediatric dentist who drives a fancy car and has a well maintained lawn. As he notices the house next door is now occupied and sees the car, you can imagine what his opinion was before he ever met Emma. They meet at the grocery store and get off to a rocky start. He soon realizes who she is, but she has no idea who he is. When he shows up at her door, she is less than pleased to see him. They're opposites that are off to a bumpy start so will they ever be able to give each other a chance?I liked Emma and Kevin's different personalities and got a kick out of each of them. Emma did seem to be a bit of a mess when she first came to town. As I got to know more about her, though, I realized how amazing and talented she was and what a good fit she was for Kevin. Kevin cracked me up. He really tried to help her out, even though he knew her pride would push him away. He had his life figured out but realized that it needed to be shaken up a little bit. He was starting to date a girl named Nicole, who was perfect for him, so there were some funny scenes which involved her as well. Of course, the road to romance is not smooth so there are some hiccups along the way to a sigh worthy ending.I also liked her neighbor, Becky, and her daughter, Sam. Emma found Becky easy to talk to and confided in her early on. There were a lot of other great supporting characters as well, which added to the story.

I started this kind of late one night and just had to finish it first thing the next morning, so once I got started, it was hard to put down. It's a clean, quick read that put a smile on my face and I am excited to read books 2 and 3!My Rating=5 Stars

Excerpt:

“This box is getting power, so it’s not a power issue.” Kevin was at the control box, checking it out. “Are you sure you programmed it right?”

“Yes,” Emma said crossly. Did she really not come across as someone with a brain? “I do know how to read instructions.”

A hint of a smile appeared on his face. “I’m sure you do.” He paused, as though trying to think of another reason her sprinklers weren’t working. “I’m assuming you turned on the stop and waste valve, right?”

Emma bit her lip. He’d assumed she’d done that, which meant any intelligent, logical person would understand what he was talking about. But Emma had no idea what a stop and waste valve was or why she’d need to turn it on. She’d never rented a house with a yard and didn’t know much about sprinklers. The house had water, why didn’t the yard? It didn’t make sense.

The corner of Kevin’s mouth pulled up, and he shook his head as though he couldn’t believe Emma was that clueless. He scanned the garage once more then strode forward and grabbed a rusted, metal T-shaped tool that hung between two nails. He carried it out into the front yard, squatted down, and pried off a green lid in the front corner of the grass. Then he plunged the end of the tool down, fiddled with it for a moment, and turned it slowly to the left.

Emma watched in fascination. So that was the stop and waste valve. Huh.

A spurting noise sounded, and little black tubes popped up all over the front yard, spraying a small amount of water only a foot or two in diameter. The girls squealed in delight, but Emma frowned. That wasn’t right.

“What the—” Kevin spluttered, jumping off the grass and onto the driveway. His hair and shirt were drenched, and no wonder. A tall fountain of water shot from the ground in the far corner, landing in the place where he’d just stood.

A USA Today bestselling author, Rachael Anderson is the mother of four and is pretty good at breaking up fights, or at least sending guilty parties to their rooms. She can’t sing, doesn’t dance, and despises tragedies. But she recently figured out how yeast works and can now make homemade bread, which she is really good at eating.

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